All were targeted for calling out China’s human rights abuses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang province.

China has repeatedly denied any human rights abuses in the province, despite mounting evidence of mass detention, forced labour and forced sterilisation, among other offences.

Sir Keir Starmer revealed sanctions had been lifted on the four remaining parliamentarians as he spoke with broadcasters in Shanghai on the third day of his visit to China.

“I know that the action taken in relation to our parliamentarians has been a real cause of concern, understandably so,” he told GB News.

“And therefore I raised that issue whilst I was here, and the Chinese are absolutely clear in response, the restrictions no longer apply.

“President Xi said to me that that means all parliamentarians are welcome.

“And I think that shows that if you engage, you can raise the difficult issues, the issues that my parliamentary college would have expected me to raise, and therefore I can be clear, the restrictions no longer apply.”

It means former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Tom Tugendhat, Nusrat Ghani, Neil O’Brien have all had sanctions lifted as well as peers David Alton and Helena Kennedy.

It is not known if former Tory Tim Loughton and two other citizens have had their sanctions removed.

All were banned from entering China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Any property they had in China was frozen, and they were blocked from doing business with any Chinese citizen or institution.

The announcement comes the day after Sir Keir met Chinese President Xi Jinping for lengthy talks in Beijing.